Absorber layer for DSA processing

ABSTRACT

A method of processing a substrate comprising depositing a layer comprising amorphous carbon on the substrate and then laser annealing the substrate is provided. Optionally, the layer further comprises a dopant selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, boron, phosphorus, fluorine, and combinations thereof. In one aspect, the layer comprising amorphous carbon is an anti-reflective coating and an absorber layer that absorbs electromagnetic radiation emitted by the laser and anneals a top surface layer of the substrate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to the fabricationof integrated circuits. More specifically, embodiments of the presentinvention generally relate to processes for depositing a layer on asubstrate and then annealing the substrate.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many processes in integrated circuit fabrication require rapid hightemperature processing steps for deposition of layers on semiconductorsubstrates, such as silicon-containing substrates, or annealing ofpreviously deposited layers on semiconductor substrates. For example,after dopant ions, such as boron, phosphorus, or arsenic, are implantedinto a semiconductor substrate, the substrate is typically annealed torepair the crystalline structure of the substrate that was disruptedduring the doping process and to activate the dopants.

It is typically preferred to heat and cool substrates quickly tominimize the amount of time that a substrate is exposed to hightemperatures that can cause unwanted diffusion and damage the substrate.Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) chambers and methods that can raisesubstrate temperatures at rates on the order of about 200 to 400°C./second have been developed. RTP processes provide an improved rapidheating method compared to the heating provided by batch furnaces, whichtypically raise substrate temperatures at a rate of about 5–15°C./minute.

While RTP processes can heat and cool a substrate quickly, RTP processesoften heat the entire thickness of a substrate. Heating the entirethickness of a semiconductor substrate is often unnecessary andundesirable, as the devices requiring annealing on a semiconductorsubstrate typically only extend through a top surface layer, such as afew microns of the substrate. Furthermore, heating the entire thicknessof the substrate increases the amount of time required for the substrateto cool down, which can increase the time required to process asubstrate and thus reduce substrate throughput in a semiconductorprocessing system. Increasing the amount of time required for thesubstrate to cool down also limits the amount of time the substrate canbe exposed to the elevated temperature required for activation.

Uneven heating across the surface of a substrate is another problem thatis often experienced with RTP or other conventional substrate heatingprocesses. As today's integrated circuits generally include a pluralityof devices spaced at varying densities across a surface of a substrateand having different sizes, shapes, and materials, a substrate surfacecan have very different thermal absorption properties across differentareas of the substrate surface. For example, a first region of asubstrate having a lower density of devices thereon typically will beheated faster than a second region of the substrate that has a higherdensity of devices thereon than the first region. Varying reflectivitiesacross different areas of the substrate surface can also make uniformheating of the substrate surface challenging.

Therefore, there remains a need for a method of uniformly heating asemiconductor substrate across a surface of the substrate during anannealing process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention provide a method of processing a substratecomprising depositing a layer on the substrate, and then laser annealingthe substrate. In one aspect, the layer comprises amorphous carbon. Inanother aspect, the layer further comprises nitrogen, boron, phosphorus,fluorine, or combinations thereof. In one embodiment, the layer is laserannealed after implanting dopant ions into the substrate.

In another aspect, a method of processing a substrate is provided, themethod comprising depositing a layer having a thickness of between about200 Å and about 2.5 μm under conditions sufficient to provide the layerwith an emissivity of about 0.84 or greater for electromagneticradiation having a wavelength of between about 600 nm and about 1000 nm,and then laser annealing the substrate.

A substrate, processed by a method comprising depositing a layercomprising amorphous carbon on the substrate, and then laser annealingthe substrate is also provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the presentinvention can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toembodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Itis to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlytypical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to otherequally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional diagram of an exemplary chemical vapordeposition reactor configured for use according to embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a side view of a laser annealing apparatus foruse according to embodiments described herein.

FIGS. 3A–3F are cross sectional views showing an embodiment of asubstrate processing sequence.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing % absorption of radiation by layers depositedaccording to embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Embodiments of the invention provide a method of processing a substrate,comprising depositing a layer on the substrate to promote uniformheating across a surface of the substrate during laser annealing of thesubstrate. In one embodiment, the layer is deposited to a thickness ofbetween about 200 Å and about 2.5 μm under conditions sufficient toprovide the layer with an emissivity of about 0.84 or greater forelectromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of between about 600 nmand about 1000 nm, and then laser annealing the substrate.

In one embodiment, the layer comprises amorphous carbon and hydrogen. Inone aspect, the layer is an amorphous carbon layer comprising carbonatoms and hydrogen atoms. In another embodiment, the layer comprisesamorphous carbon, hydrogen, and a dopant selected from a groupconsisting of nitrogen, boron, phosphorus, fluorine, or combinationsthereof. In one aspect, the layer is a doped amorphous carbon layercomprising carbon atoms, hydrogen atoms, and dopant atoms selected fromthe group consisting of nitrogen, boron, phosphorus, fluorine, andcombinations thereof. In all embodiments, preferably, the layer includesno metal or substantially no metal. The layer may be deposited by plasmaenhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of a gas mixture comprising acarbon source. Preferably, the carbon source is a gaseous hydrocarbon.For example, the carbon source may be propylene (C₃H₆). The gas mixturemay be formed from a carbon source that is a liquid precursor or agaseous precursor. In one embodiment, a liquid precursor is used toimprove sidewall and corner coverage of devices or features that may beon the substrate. The gas mixture may further comprise a carrier gas,such as helium (He). The layer may be deposited to a thickness ofbetween about 100 Å and about 20,000 Å. Preferably, the layer isdeposited to a thickness between about 800 Å and about 1500 Å, such as athickness of about 1200 Å. The layer may be deposited in any chambercapable of performing PECVD. In one embodiment, the layer is depositedunder high density plasma conditions to enhance the gap fillingcapability of the layer between devices or features on the substrate. Anexample of a chamber that may be used is the a DSM APF chamber,available from Applied Materials, Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a vertical, cross-section view of a parallelplate CVD processing chamber 10. The chamber 10 includes a high vacuumregion 15 and a gas distribution manifold 11 having perforated holes fordispersing process gases therethrough to a substrate (not shown). Thesubstrate rests on a substrate support plate or susceptor 12. Thesusceptor 12 is mounted on a support stem 13 that connects the susceptor12 to a lift motor 14. The lift motor 14 raises and lowers the susceptor12 between a processing position and a lower, substrate-loading positionso that the susceptor 12 (and the substrate supported on the uppersurface of susceptor 12) can be controllably moved between a lowerloading/off-loading position and an upper processing position which isclosely adjacent to the manifold 11. An insulator 17 surrounds thesusceptor 12 and the substrate when in an upper processing position.

Gases introduced to the manifold 11 are uniformly distributed radiallyacross the surface of the substrate. A vacuum pump 32 having a throttlevalve controls the exhaust rate of gases from the chamber 10 through amanifold 24. Deposition and carrier gases, if needed, flow through gaslines 18 into a mixing system 19 and then to the manifold 11. Generally,each process gas supply line 18 includes (i) safety shut-off valves (notshown) that can be used to automatically or manually shut off the flowof process gas into the chamber, and (ii) mass flow controllers (notshown) to measure the flow of gas through the gas supply lines 18. Whentoxic gases are used in the process, several safety shut-off valves arepositioned on each gas supply line 18 in conventional configurations.

A controlled plasma is typically formed adjacent the substrate by RFenergy applied to the gas distribution manifold 11 using a RF powersupply 25. Alternatively, RF power can be provided to the susceptor 12.The RF power to the deposition chamber may be cycled or pulsed. Thepower density of the plasma is between about 0.0016 W/cm² and about 155W/cm², which corresponds to a RF power level of about 1.1 W to about 100kW for a 300 mm substrate.

The RF power supply 25 can supply a single frequency RF power betweenabout 0.01 MHz and 300 MHz, such as about 13.56 MHz. Alternatively, theRF power may be delivered using mixed, simultaneous frequencies toenhance the decomposition of reactive species introduced into the highvacuum region 15. In one aspect, the mixed frequency is a lowerfrequency of about 12 kHz and a higher frequency of about 13.56 mHz. Inanother aspect, the lower frequency may range between about 300 Hz toabout 1,000 kHz, and the higher frequency may range between about 5 mHzand about 50 mHz.

Typically, any or all of the chamber lining, distribution manifold 11,susceptor 12, and various other reactor hardware is made out ofmaterials such as aluminum or anodized aluminum. An example of such aCVD reactor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,113, entitled “A ThermalCVD/PECVD Reactor and Use for Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition ofSilicon Dioxide and In-situ Multi-step Planarized Process,” which isincorporated by reference herein.

A system controller 34 controls the motor 14, the gas mixing system 19,and the RF power supply 25 which are connected therewith by controllines 36. The system controller 34 controls the activities of the CVDreactor and typically includes a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive,and a card rack. The card rack contains a single board computer (SBC),analog and digital input/output boards, interface boards, and steppermotor controller boards. The system controller 34 conforms to the VersaModular Europeans (VME) standard which defines board, card cage, andconnector dimensions and types. The VME standard also defines the busstructure having a 16-bit data bus and 24-bit address bus.

The carbon source may be introduced into the mixing system 19 at a rateof between about 30 sccm and about 3000 sccm, and the carrier gas may beintroduced into the chamber at a rate of between about 100 sccm andabout 5000 sccm. During deposition, the substrate is maintained at atemperature between about 200° C. and about 1500° C., such as atemperature between about 300° C. and about 700° C. For example, thesubstrate may be maintained at a temperature of about 550° C. Thedeposition pressure is typically between about 5 Torr and about 50 Torr,such as about 7 Torr. RF power of between about 500 W and about 1500 Wmay be applied in the chamber at a frequency of about 13.56 MHz.

In another embodiment, the layer comprises amorphous carbon andnitrogen. The layer may be deposited by PECVD of a gas mixturecomprising the carbon source and a dopant source selected from the groupconsisting of a nitrogen source, a boron source, a phosphorus source, afluorine source, and combinations thereof. Preferably, the nitrogensource is nitrogen (N₂). The gas mixture may further comprise a carriergas, such as helium (He). The carbon source may be introduced into themixing system 19 at a rate of between about 30 sccm and about 3000 sccm,the dopant source may be introduced into the mixing system 19 at a rateof between about 30 sccm and about 5000 sccm, and the carrier gas may beintroduced into the mixing system 19 at a rate of between about 160 sccmand about 5000 sccm. The layer may be deposited to a thickness ofbetween about 800 Å and about 1500 Å, such as a thickness of about 1150Å. During deposition, the substrate is maintained at a temperaturebetween about 200° C. and about 1500° C. Preferably, the substrate ismaintained at a temperature between about 400° C. and about 500° C. Forexample, the substrate may be maintained at a temperature of about 400°C. The deposition pressure is typically between about 5 Torr and about50 Torr, such as about 7 Torr.

After the layer is deposited on the substrate, the substrate is laserannealed. Preferably, the substrate is laser annealed with continuouswave electromagnetic radiation emitted from a laser. As defined herein,“continuous wave electromagnetic radiation” is radiation that is emittedcontinuously, i.e., not in a burst or pulse. Alternatively, thesubstrate may be laser annealed with pulses of electromagneticradiation.

In one embodiment, the electromagnetic radiation has a wavelengthbetween about 600 nm and about 1000 nm. In a preferred embodiment, theelectromagnetic radiation has a wavelength between about 808 nm andabout 810 nm. Preferably, the extinction coefficient of the layer at awavelength of about 808 nm to about 810 nm is about 0.01 to about 2.0.Typically, the power density of the electromagnetic radiation emitted bythe laser is between about 10 kW/cm² and about 200 kW/cm², such as about60 kW/cm².

During the laser annealing, the substrate is scanned with a line ofradiation emitted by the laser. The line of electromagnetic radiationmay be between about 3 μm and about 500 μm wide, such as about 35 μmwide. The electromagnetic radiation emitted by the laser issubstantially absorbed by the layer. The layer reflects little if any ofthe electromagnetic radiation emitted by the laser. Thus, the layer maybe described as both an absorber layer and an anti-reflective coatinglayer. The layer then transfers the thermal energy created by theabsorbed electromagnetic radiation to the substrate on which the layeris deposited, and the substrate is heated and annealed. Preferably, onlya top surface layer of the substrate, such as the top 15 μm of thesubstrate surface that faces the laser is heated and annealed. Thus, inone embodiment, the annealing process is a dynamic surface annealing(DSA) process. In one embodiment, a top surface layer of the substrateis heated to a temperature between about 1100° C. and about 1410° C. andcooled down to near ambient temperature in a time on the order of 1millisecond.

An example of a laser apparatus 200 that may be used with embodimentsdescribed herein is shown in FIG. 2. The apparatus 200 comprises acontinuous wave electromagnetic radiation module 201, a stage 216configured to receive a substrate 214 thereon, and a translationmechanism 218. The continuous wave electromagnetic radiation module 201comprises a continuous wave electromagnetic radiation source 202 andfocusing optics 220 disposed between the continuous wave electromagneticradiation source 202 and the stage 216.

In a preferred embodiment, the continuous wave electromagnetic radiationsource 202 is capable of emitting radiation continuously for at least 15seconds. Also, in a preferred embodiment, the continuous waveelectromagnetic radiation source 202 comprises multiple laser diodes,each of which produces uniform and spatially coherent light at the samewavelength. In yet another preferred embodiment, the power of the laserdiode/s is in the range of 0.5 kW to 50 kW, but preferably approximately2 kW. Suitable laser diodes are made by Coherent Inc. of Santa Clara,Calif.; Spectra-Physics of California; or by Cutting Edge Optronics,Inc. of St. Charles Mo. A preferred laser diode is made by Cutting EdgeOptronics, although another suitable laser diode is Spectra Physics'MONSOON® multi-bar module (MBM), which provides 40–480 watts ofcontinuous wave power per laser diode module.

The focusing optics 220 preferably comprise one or more collimators 206to collimate radiation 204 from the continuous wave electromagneticradiation source 202 into a substantially parallel beam 208. Thiscollimated radiation 208 is then focused by at least one lens 210 into aline of radiation 222 at an upper surface 224 of the substrate 214.

Lens 210 is any suitable lens, or series of lenses, capable of focusingradiation into a line. In a preferred embodiment, lens 210 is acylindrical lens. Alternatively, lens 210 may be one or more concavelenses, convex lenses, plane mirrors, concave mirrors, convex mirrors,refractive lenses, diffractive lenses, Fresnel lenses, gradient indexlenses, or the like.

The stage 216 is any platform or chuck capable of securely holding thesubstrate 214 during translation, as explained below. In a preferredembodiment, the stage 216 includes a means for grasping the substrate,such as a frictional, gravitational, mechanical, or electrical system.Examples of suitable means for grasping include, mechanical clamps,electrostatic or vacuum chucks, or the like.

The apparatus 200 also comprises a translation mechanism 218 configuredto translate the stage 216 and the line of radiation 222 relative to oneanother. In one embodiment, the translation mechanism 218 is coupled tothe stage 216 to move the stage 216 relative to the continuous waveelectromagnetic radiation source 202 and/or the focusing optics 220. Inanother embodiment, the translation mechanism 218 is coupled to thecontinuous wave electromagnetic radiation source 202 and/or the focusingoptics 220 to move the continuous wave electromagnetic radiation source202 and/or the focusing optics 220 relative to the stage 216. In yetanother embodiment, the translation mechanism 218 moves both thecontinuous wave electromagnetic radiation source 202 and/or the focusingoptics 220, and the stage 216. Any suitable translation mechanism may beused, such as a conveyor system, rack and pinion system, or the like.

The translation mechanism 218 is preferably coupled to a controller 226to control the scan speed at which the stage 216 and the line ofradiation 222 move relative to one another. In addition, translation ofthe stage 216 and the line of radiation 222 relative to one another ispreferably along a path perpendicular to the line of radiation 222 andparallel to the upper surface 224 of the substrate 214. In a preferredembodiment, the translation mechanism 218 moves at a constant speed.Preferably, this constant speed is approximately 2 cm/s for a 35 micronwide line. In another embodiment, the translation of the stage 216 andthe line of radiation 222 relative to one another is not along a pathperpendicular to the line of radiation 222.

The laser shown and described with respect to FIG. 2 and otherembodiments of lasers that may be used with the embodiments describedherein are further described in commonly assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/126,419, filed Apr. 18, 2002, entitled “ThermalFlux Process by Scanning,” which is incorporated by reference herein.

After the substrate is annealed, the layer may be removed from thesubstrate. In embodiments in which the layer comprises amorphous carbonor amorphous carbon and a dopant selected from a group consisting ofnitrogen, boron, phosphorus, fluorine, or combinations thereof, thelayer may be removed from the substrate by an oxygen ashing process.

An exemplary substrate processing sequence according to an embodiment ofthe invention is described below with respect to FIGS. 3A–3F. Asubstrate 300 comprising silicon is provided, as shown FIG. 3A. A fieldoxide layer 302, a gate dielectric 304, and a gate electrode 306 aredeposited and patterned on the substrate 300 according to conventionalmethods to form gate source area 303 and drain source area 305 in thesubstrate 300, as shown in FIG. 3B. Dopant ions are then implanted intothe substrate 300 to form gate source 308 and gate drain 310, as shownin FIG. 3C. A layer 312 comprising amorphous carbon and optionally adopant is then deposited according to an embodiment of the invention onthe substrate 300, as shown in FIG. 3D. The substrate 300 is then laserannealed according to an embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG.3E. The layer 312 is then removed from the substrate, as shown in FIG.3F, such as by an oxygen ashing process.

While FIGS. 3A–3F show only one gate device on a substrate, it isrecognized that the layers described herein will typically be formed ona substrate that includes a plurality of devices of different sizes,types, and materials and spaced at varying densities across the surfaceof the substrate. It is believed that the layers promote uniform heatingacross a surface of the substrate during laser annealing of thesubstrate in spite of varying device topography across the surface of asubstrate. In particular, it is believed that the layers have highemissivities for electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength ofbetween about 808 nm and about 810 nm that promote uniform heatingacross a surface of the substrate during a laser annealing process inwhich the substrate is exposed to electromagnetic radiation having awavelength of between about 808 nm and about 810 nm.

EXAMPLES Examples 1–9

A layer comprising amorphous carbon was deposited on 9 siliconsubstrates in a PECVD chamber under the following processing conditions:550° C., 7 Torr, 700 watts RF power at a frequency of 13.56 MHz, 1200sccm C₃H₆, 650 sccm He, and a spacing of 270 mils between the chambershowerhead and the substrate support. The layer was deposited in theabsence of a chamber shadow ring in Examples 1–7. The layer wasdeposited with a chamber shadow ring present in Examples 8 and 9. Thesubstrate was then laser annealed according to embodiments providedherein. The thickness of the deposited layer, deposition time, and theemissivity of the layer to electromagnetic radiation of 810 nm are shownin Table 1.

TABLE 1 Approximate Thickness Deposition Substrate (Å) Emissivity Time(Sec) 1 936 0.89 63 2 800 0.84 54 3 900 0.89 61 4 1000 0.91 68 5 11000.93 74 6 1200 0.94 81 7 1300 0.92 88 8 900 0.87 34 9 1200 0.9 45

Examples 10–17

A layer comprising amorphous carbon and nitrogen was deposited on 8silicon substrates in a PECVD chamber under the following processingconditions: 400° C., 7 Torr, 1200 watts RF power at a frequency of 13.56MHz, 350 sccm C₃H₆, 3400 sccm N₂, and a spacing of 270 mils between thechamber showerhead and the substrate support. The layer was depositedwas deposited in the absence of a chamber shadow ring in Examples 10–15.The layer was deposited with a chamber shadow ring present in Examples16 and 17. The substrate was then laser annealed according toembodiments provided herein. The thickness of the deposited layer,deposition time, and the emissivity of the layer to electromagneticradiation of 810 nm are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Approximate Thickness Deposition Substrate (Å) Emissivity Time(Sec) 10 800 0.91 17 11 900 0.95 19 12 1000 0.98 21 13 1100 0.99 24 141200 0.99 26 15 1300 0.97 28 16 850 0.94 17 17 1200 0.98 25

As shown in Tables 1 and 2, the layers comprising amorphous carbon andamorphous carbon and nitrogen and having a thickness between about 800 Åand about 1500 Å had emissivities of 0.84 or greater for electromagneticradiation having a wavelength of between about 600 nm and about 1000 nm,such as between about 808 nm and about 810 nm, e.g., 810 nm. It wasunexpectedly found that the layers comprising amorphous carbon andnitrogen had higher emissivities than layers of a comparable thicknessthat included amorphous carbon but not nitrogen. It is believed nitrogenincreases the thermal conductivity of an amorphous carbon layer, as theband gap for an amorphous carbon layer deposited by PECVD is typicallyabout 1.4 eV, while the band gap of an amorphous carbon layer comprisingnitrogen is typically about −0.6 eV.

FIG. 4 shows the % absorption of radiation having a wavelength of 810 nmof layers with different light absorption coefficients, k, andcomprising amorphous carbon or amorphous carbon and nitrogen. FIG. 4shows that the layers comprising amorphous carbon and nitrogen absorbeda larger amount of the electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of810 nm than the layers of a comparable thickness that comprised carbonbut not nitrogen. It is believed that adding nitrogen to an amorphouscarbon layer increases the absorption of the layer of electromagneticradiation having a wavelength of between about 808 nm and about 810 nm.

Other advantages of layers comprising amorphous carbon and nitrogen arerecognized. For example, a layer comprising amorphous carbon andnitrogen can be deposited to a thickness, such as about 1150 Å, at alower temperature, such as at about 400° C., to achieve good absorptionof electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of between about 700 nmand about 1 mm, while a layer comprising amorphous carbon but notnitrogen typically must be deposited to a thickness, such as about 1200Å, at a higher temperature, such as at about 550° C., to achieve goodabsorption of electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of betweenabout 808 nm and about 810 nm. A lower deposition temperature ispreferred, as it minimizes the substrate's exposure to temperatures thatcan cause undesirable re-crystallization of the silicon in thesubstrate.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

1. A method of processing a substrate, comprising: depositing a layer comprising amorphous carbon on the substrate; and then laser annealing the substrate, wherein the laser annealing comprises scanning the substrate with a line of continuous wave electromagnetic radiation; and further comprising removing the layer from the substrate after the laser annealing.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the layer comprising amorphous carbon is deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the layer comprising amorphous carbon is deposited from a mixture comprising C₃H₆.
 4. A method of processing a substrate comprising: implanting dopant ions into the substrate; and then depositing a layer comprising amorphous carbon on the substrate; and then laser annealing the substrate, wherein the laser annealing comprises scanning the substrate with a line of continuous wave electromagnetic radiation.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising forming a gate source area and a gate drain area in the substrate before the implanting.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the substrate is laser annealed for a period of time sufficient to activate the implanted dopant ions.
 7. A method of processing a substrate, comprising: depositing a layer comprising amorphous carbon and nitrogen and a dopant selected from the group consisting of boron, phosphorus, fluorine, and combinations thereof on the substrate; and then laser annealing the substrate with a laser, wherein the layer absorbs electromagnetic radiation emitted by the laser and transfers thermal energy created by the absorbed electromagnetic radiation to the substrate.
 8. A method of processing a substrate, comprising: depositing a layer comprising amorphous carbon and nitrogen on the substrate; and then laser annealing the substrate with a laser, wherein the layer absorbs electromagnetic radiation emitted by the laser and transfers thermal energy created by the absorbed electromagnetic radiation to the substrate and wherein the laser annealing comprises scanning the substrate with a line of continuous wave electromagnetic radiation.
 9. A method of processing a substrate, comprising: implanting dopant ions into the substrate; depositing a layer comprising amorphous carbon and nitrogen on the substrate; and then laser annealing the substrate with a laser, wherein the layer absorbs electromagnetic radiation emitted by the laser and transfers thermal energy created by the absorbed electromagnetic radiation to the substrate.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising forming a gate source area and a gate drain area in the substrate before the implanting.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the substrate is laser annealed for a period of time sufficient to activate the implanted dopant ions.
 12. A method of processing a substrate comprising silicon, the method comprising: depositing a layer having a thickness of between about 200 Å and about 2.5 μm under conditions sufficient to provide the layer with an emissivity of about 0.84 to about 0.99 for electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of between about 600 nm and about 1000 nm; and then laser annealing the substrate.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the layer comprises amorphous carbon.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the layer further comprises a dopant selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, boron, phosphorus, fluorine, and combinations thereof.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the layer further comprises nitrogen.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the layer has a thickness of between about 800 Å and about 1500 Å, and the layer is deposited under conditions sufficient to provide the layer with an emissivity of about 0.84 to about 0.99 for electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of between about 808 nm and about 810 nm.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein the laser annealing comprises scanning the substrate with a line of continuous wave electromagnetic radiation.
 18. The method of claim 12, further comprising implanting dopant ions into the substrate before the depositing a layer comprising amorphous carbon.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising forming a gate source area and a gate drain area in the substrate before the implanting.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the substrate is laser annealed for a period of time sufficient to activate the implanted dopant ions.
 21. A substrate processed by a method comprising: depositing a layer comprising amorphous carbon and nitrogen on the substrate; and then laser annealing the substrate, wherein the laser annealing comprises scanning the substrate with a line of continuous wave electromagnetic radiation.
 22. The substrate of claim 21, wherein the layer has an emissivity of about 0.84 to about 0.99 for electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength of between about 808 nm and about 810 nm.
 23. A method of processing a substrate, comprising: depositing a layer comprising amorphous carbon and a dopant selected from the group consisting of nitrogen, boron, phosphorus, fluorine, and combinations thereof on the substrate; and then laser annealing the substrate, wherein the laser annealing comprises scanning the substrate with a line of continuous wave electromagnetic radiation. 